We Tested It: The Malefycia Festival
Malefycia. From their FB page.
Every year for Halloween there are tons of things to do everywhere. It can be hard to decide what to do, to choose the right thing for you and the people who join you. For kids, you might consider the zoo or other outdoor activities. As teens you probably think La Ronde or the Zombie Walk? As university students and other 20-somethings: Rocky Horror or the Masquerade Ball? So many choices!
As I am only concerned about the greater good, I wanted to narrow the possibilities down a little. I thought it could help you to avoid next year’s crisis. So, I went out and experimented with a few things for you. Of course, I did so without any hope of having fun myself (OK, big lie, I did know it would be tremendous fun). And this is where I headed for Halloween: The Malefycia Festival at Bassin Peel.
When my friend Marc Primeau told me about the Malefycia Festival I could not resist. I read “blood,” “house of horrors,” and “scare” in the same sentence. I knew I had to go. After all, what better way to celebrate Halloween than going to a house of horrors? I think it’s great fun (as long as it’s not too violent), and I love a good scare (except a roller coaster, I hate that). Thanks to Marc (who play the bloody butcher in the house) and Mathieu Cass Surprenant, it was possible. Let me, now, open the doors of the Horror House for you. Are you scared to follow ?
Imagine this: The Bassin Peel after dark. You are walking slowly in your costume, laughing with your friends. Then you seem some lights and a few tents. You see other people. The atmosphere is electric. Something is in the air, a small touch of expectation and nervousness. You get in the line. There, Mathieu Cass is ready to let you in. He explains a few rules and open the doors for you. There is no going back now. The scare begins.
I cannot really tell you what was behind the door. Some things have to stay secret if I do not want you to know exactly what to expect. But let me tell you this : behind that door something awaits. Be prepared.
What I can tell you is that this year there were five rooms. All different, all filled with scary things, all with actors ready to scare and play with you a bit. The awesome thing is you cannot go freely in the house. Nope! The actors decide when they are done with you and then it’s time for you to go to the next room… and it’s not always by a door ! You will see scary things, hear funny (not so funny) noises and feel various emotions. I cannot say much more than that except be prepared.
I especially loved the first room. The noises scared me out of my wits, and the actress seemed to particularly appreciate scaring me. Well done. It worked, especially when I had to go into that place with no lights. Yep, well done! I appreciated the decorations in the second room, very scary! Finally the last one had some awesome special effects… it was not cool to stay there until the character was willing to let us out. The funny thing though is that we could not open the door. We had quite a laugh there, because, you see, you have to push and not pull the door… Silly us! I have to say the actress managed to stay in character well , because we were so goofy it was probably hard for her to not laugh. We felt a little stupid, but at the same time it was a great transition before going back to the real world.
If I have to sum the experience up I would say this: insanely genius, kind of scary, definitely nerve wracking. But, oh my, it is so much fun! Please go check it out next year. Plus Mathieu Cass Surprenant told us there would be 20 rooms. Can you imagine that? The test run was a success for me, so please go next year. And please have fun!
Check an eye out for the website for Malefycia for next year’s edition at http://www.malefycia.com/
